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December 27, 2013

Fantasy Bourbon GAME 3: Four Roses 125th vs A. Bowman Millennium

This is Game Three of SmokyBeast's 2013 Fantasy Bourbon. If you're tuning in for the first time, the series starts here...

Today's Battle

Today's battle pits one of the heavily favorites for bourbon of the year - Four Roses 125th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch against another new 2013 release - A. Bowman Last Millennium. SmokyBeast did a deep dive into the world of Four Roses over our Thanksgiving War of the Roses Marathon, so our regular readers don't need a lot of background. We also covered the history of Bowman when we reviewed their somewhat disappointing Gingerbread Finished Beer. Since then we got our hands on the Last Millennium which made it's way into our Big 8 show-down.

Nose-to-Nose

Millennium: Nice, if mellow, nose of cherries and wood, florals and some citrusy sweetness. Nice and well-balanced.

4R125: It's like you brewed a cup of chamomile tea with one third tea, one third lemon, and one third honey, and then rubbed it into a leather saddle. 4R kills in the nose department, no contest.

Body-to-Body

Millennium: Ok this is really nothing to sneeze at. It's by far the smoothest of the all-star fantasy bourbons that we've tasted so far. Almost dangerously so. Very easy on the tongue, not a flavor monster, but very tasty with lemon candies, springtime heather, and some light fruity sweetness.

4R125: So many more layers of flavor. We've kind of already reviewed this bottle to death, but it still impresses with all the different levels of wood, spice, smoke, and sweet. Just sublime.

End Game

Millennium: Not a very noticeable finish, though the smoothness and balance continue. We haven't done a dedicated review to this bottle, but it is certainly worth one even if you can see where this fight is headed.

4R125: Crisp, dry, & rich. A stunner.

The Final Score

It's a hat trick shut out, the Four Roses wins on all counts. Nose, taste, and finish, this one is a big contender for a reason. Whoever wins tomorrow's Angel's Envy vs. Parker's Heritage battle is in for some serious competition in the semis.

Brackets

Standings

Player

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Game 6

Game 7

Total

Bo Wang

1

0

1

2

BennieFF

1

1

1

3

Kurtis

1

1

1

3

Daniel Forth

1

0

1

2

Justin Sloan

0

1

1

2

JOHN REYNOLDS

1

0

1

2

Chris Jones

1

0

1

2

Zach Raymer

1

0

1

2

Josh Lawrence

1

1

1

3

Matt Zimbler

0

0

1

1

Stephen Joos

1

0

1

2

Jason Brown

1

1

1

3

Soko

1

1

1

3

Carla C.

1

1

1

3

espitz00

1

0

1

2

Joe S.

1

1

1

3

Kelly Beggs

0

0

1

1

Jake Van Nuland

0

0

0

0

Stefan Bing

1

1

1

3

jesterpee

0

1

1

2

Bruegengaters

1

1

1

3

Maggie Wafford

1

1

1

3

djfivenine

1

0

1

2

J

1

0

1

2

zak rotello

1

0

1

2

Brent Sehnert

1

0

1

2

ZacP in RI

0

1

1

2

dave nichols

1

1

1

3

stl cork&#39;d

1

0

1

2

a-dig

1

0

1

2

Kevin M

1

1

1

3

Rush Thrift

1

0

1

2

Michael St.pierre

1

1

1

3

Sarah Ilinitch

1

0

1

2

Danny Cakes

1

1

1

3

Matt Rychtanek

1

1

1

3

Dan Gilbert

1

0

1

2

Glencairn

1

0

1

2

Charles Binger

1

0

1

2

oak

1

1

1

3

Tim Moon

1

0

1

2

Lucy Crow

1

0

1

2

Jeff Roth

1

0

1

2

paulgetto

1

0

1

2

Bryan Nanna

0

0

1

1

Max Burstein

1

0

1

2

Tom Kimball

1

0

1

2

Thomas Hurst

0

0

1

1

Will Moller

1

0

1

2

Mikel Isaacs

1

0

1

2

TJ

1

1

1

3

Arok

0

1

1

2

T.J. Thompson

0

1

1

2

whiskycorner

1

0

1

2

Stephen Grim

1

0

1

2

Vincent Licata

1

0

1

2

whattastesgood.net

1

0

1

2

britney tucci

1

1

1

3

Ravensfire

0

0

1

1

Reuven Weinstein

1

1

1

3

Funky Tape

1

1

1

3

Ok not much of a surprise this week. But the standings are heating up.

Click here for Game 4: the much anticipated battle of Angel's Envy Cask Strength - which didn't get a ton of public attention this year, but among bourbon aficionados was a runaway hit, versus our fourth seed Parker's Heritage Collection (PHC) Promise of Hope. The PHC series is one of the heavy hitters in limited release bourbon. Tune in at noon to see who takes the final seat in the semis!